Only around half of small business owners are working with financial advisors, representing both a challenge and an opportunity for the advisory industry, a new survey from Securian Financial Group found.

The research was based on a survey of 435 small business owners, employing up to 250 people, and found that many don’t seek help from an advisor despite having a number of financial concerns. Furthermore, they were most likely to seek help on the personal finance side even though they had many business-related issues they would like advice on.

The business-owning community is an important one for advisors, as although some firms are small in size they can be very profitable and are good sources of wealth creation. Private banks, for example, which offer both business and personal private banking, view these links as a key area of business growth.

According to the survey, the top financial concerns of small business owners are cost control, profitability, building wealth, financial security for their families and rising health care costs. Still, though, the proportion of business owners seeking advice on these topics is much smaller than the proportion of those who say they would like it.

Other topics small business owners would consider talking to an advisor about are business succession planning, personal finance, asset management and employee benefits.

Among the top ways to get on a small business owner’s radar is through recommendations from family members, business acquaintances and other financial professionals, so networking with bankers, accountants and attorneys is important, according to Securian.

However, as this group of people are savvy and have developed businesses often through a tight control of costs, financial advisors must be able to prove they are an investment not an expense, says Kerry Geurkink, director of annuity marketing at Securian.

They are also looking for someone who demonstrates expertise in running a small business, added Geurkink.